Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, February 29, 2020
by R. Fergus Moir, Clergy Stuff
Let’s be honest—sometimes kids drive us nuts. So to modern ears, this story of Jesus blessing children sounds like a case of irritated disciples rolling their eyes because a wailing child is making it impossible to hear the sermon during a worship service. The truth is far more profound.
In Jesus’ time, children were property. Among human beings they had the absolute least power. The disciples weren’t at all out of line trying to keep them away from Jesus—he had far more important things to do.
As always, Jesus turns things on their heads and shows us a different way. God’s kingdom is first and foremost for the least powerful among us. The oppressed, the discounted, the forgotten. Jesus has been saying this throughout his whole ministry, but the disciples seem to have missed the point. Or, more likely, reinterpreted it through the lens of their own society and experience.
We need to be reminded again and again that God does not favor the powerful, the wealthy, or the celebrity. We are called to reject these things and reach out in love to the least and the lost.
How do my modern sensibilities keep me from seeing God’s deeper truths?
![Jonah 1:1-17; 3:1-10 [4:1-11], Jonah and God’s Mercy](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/6bbb490e-4992-4659-a8be-02d8397d68af/24-11-10.jpg)
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